


Stuck Between a Sky Scraper and a Hard Place

by spidermanstan



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Asphyxiation, Broken Bones, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Protective James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Protective May Parker (Spider-Man), Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Self-Sacrifice, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has Nightmares, Tony Stark Has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Whump, Worried May Parker (Spider-Man), lots of that lmao, mostly bc the whole 'tony and steve' hate each other thing is annoying lmao, tbh they just both need a fucking break, that'll come don't worry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-07-05 06:56:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15858519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spidermanstan/pseuds/spidermanstan
Summary: Tony’s heart stopped when his com buzzed to life one final time before the blast wave rippled through the city.“I repeat, I have a little girl in a collapsing building, do not start that thing up! Does anyone copy? Hello?!”But by then it was too late.OrIn which Peter puts his life on the line to save a new friend, and a very concerned Tony is powerless to help.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> a cool idea i've been sitting on for a while, but finally decided to post because i've had a shitty night, and what better to cure my sadness than validation from strangers from the internet? it's the cure-all for all your depressive episodes, and it's free! (trust me, doctors HATE me)  
> hope you enjoy!

“Pete, how’re we looking on civilian evac?” Tony asked as he blasted another goop monster into a lifeless puddle. As much as Tony wanted to be funding the future, he had decided about thirty seven minutes ago that he really needed _ some  _ kind of screening on what highly impressionable young adults he was just handing heaps and heaps of money to. 

Because while he totally had the money to just dump millions onto one university to the next, giving the next generation of geniuses the tools they needed to fund their new, initiative, “out of the box” projects that would otherwise never get funded, he was now realizing that not everyone’s “out of the box” ideas  _ should  _ be funded.

Like, as a totally random example, some guy who idolized slash hated Bruce Banner slash the Hulk and attempted to create a “new race” of Hulks that would enslave humanity. Or at least that’s how this nutcase put it in his five minute monologue. Like c’mon, Tony was dramatic, but even he knew how to keep his battle monologues under two minutes  _ max _ . This guy was just over the fucking top.

Jesus Christ, it’s like the universe can never give Tony Stark a break, in any aspect of his life, ever.

“Good! I think we’ve almost got everyone out of the way!” Peter yelled back over the coms. Tony had given the kid evacuation duty with Cap, while Nat and Clint protected Bruce as he worked on the solution to their problem, and Tony had the pleasure of blasting all the not so tiny green fuckers to bits with Rhodey and Sam. They had a pretty good system going on, Tony was proud to admit.

The one good thing about this guy being obsessed with Bruce was that he had “borrowed” from a lot of his original work, so it was easy for Bruce to find a way to disable all these monsters. They were going to draw them all into one city block and, after Bruce finished making some adjustments to one of the units that kept creating them, using a very specific frequency of Gamma rays, wipe ‘em all out at once. 

Tony had done the math in his head, and he concluded that it was gonna be fucking awesome.

“Tony!” Bruce’s voice caught Tony’s attention over the coms. “I’ve got everything ready on this end, are we ready to end this?” He asked. 

“Hold up, how much property damage are we gonna have on our hands when this is all said and done?” Rhodey asked. “I’ve got Damage Control breathing down my neck for an estimate.” Though no one could see it, Tony rolled his eyes. They really couldn’t wait until the city wasn’t in danger anymore? 

“This entire block at least, maybe a bit further down,” Bruce called back. “That’s about as good of an estimate as they’re gonna get from us right now.”

“Can we stop the chit chat and get to finishing this already?” Sam called out, clearly annoyed as one of the larger monsters pinned him against an apartment complex. Rhodey managed to blast the thing into a puff of green smoke and goop, earning a sighed “Gross,” from the other man, the structural integrity of the building taking the fault for the shock wave.

“Yeah, I left ice cream in my car for this!” Clint added. 

“As long as I get the okay from Cap and Spider-Man, I’m ready to blow this popsicle stand!” Bruce yelled out, and it took everything inside of Tony not to fly over to Banner and slap him. And he calls Tony a dad, come on!

“ _ Please _ , for the love of God don’t ever say that again, or I will vomit.” Tony warned, making fake gagging noises as the rest of his teammates groaned along with him. “And trust me, cleaning puke out of one of these suits is not easy.” 

“Fellas, you can fool around all you want  _ after _ we save the city.” Natasha interrupted sternly. “Spider-Man, Captain, we good to go?” 

“We’ve done our part, Natasha,” Steve declared. “Let’s finish these green bastards.” At any other time Tony would’ve shot a gasp and a sarcastic “Language!” towards Cap, but something wasn’t right.

“Cap, is Peter with you? Pete, do you copy?” Tony asked. Peter was never one to go silent over the coms, if anything he would talk over them too much.

“He ran off somewhere, he’s not with you?” Cap questioned back, his voice sounding fuzzy and out of focus in his ear. Tony felt panic rise in his chest.

“Alright guys, I’m firing this thing up, everybody stand clear!” Bruce called out, the power of whatever device Bruce had whipped up interfering with their communication lines. 

“Peter?” Tony called again. “Bruce, wait we can’t find Peter!” Tony called desperately. Bruce hadn’t heard him and the machine had already warmed up. Tony watched in horror from high over the city block as a glowing green light emerged from the center of the street, Nat driving Bruce and Clint to safety above the device on a hoverbike. 

Tony’s heart stopped when his com buzzed to life one final time before the blast wave rippled through the city.

“I repeat, I have a little girl in a collapsing building,  _ do not _ start that thing up! Does anyone copy?  _ Hello?!” _

But by then it was too late.

Tony had to close his eyes, the blast was so powerful and bright, knocking him off his balance momentarily. A pulse was sent through the air, and by the time the light had disappeared the area below him was filling with smoke from the surrounding structures beginning to collapse. Without hesitation, Tony started rocketing down into the destruction, the once familiar city block now resembling a dystopian YA novel setting. Tony flew around, taking a frantic minute to try and regain his barings.

“Friday? Friday, get me heat signatures, now!” Tony yelled when he found his voice again, knowing until the smoke cleared his eyes would be useless. “Peter?!”

“Two heat signatures in this building to your left, boss.” Friday replied, the AI sounding nervous. Tony turned, a shiver shooting through his body when his eyes met the giant pile of destruction. He raced towards it without so much as a second thought, all but crashing into the rubble, anxiety coursing through his veins.

“Peter, do you copy?” Tony asked sternly and slowly, making his voice as clear as he could manage.

“Mr. Stark?” Peter’s voice came through the line fuzzy, but it was his voice nonetheless. He heard Peter coughing in his ear as the smoke and dust surrounding Tony began to clear.

“Pete! Pete, Peter, are you hurt?” Tony asked. “Friday, can you get me his vitals?”

“Mr. Stark, I’m fine, but I’m not alone.” Peter explained.

“Is that Iron Man?” The voice of a starstruck young girl rang through Tony’s ears. Tony’s heart clenched. He couldn’t freak out now, not with _ two _ kids in danger.

“This is Iron Man,” Tony confirmed in as calm a voice as he could manage. “Who’s this?”

“This is Sara, Spider-Man gave me his mask to wear!” The little girl announced excitedly.

“She needs the oxygen,” Peter explained. “Karen scanned our pocket, we’re sealed in airtight.” Peter paused to cough, weaker than before. “I hope you’re working on a way to get us out of here, Karen says we’ve only got about eight minutes of oxygen in here.” He paused for just a second too long. “Correction;  _ I’ve  _ only got eight minutes of oxygen in here.”

“Can you send me the scan?” Tony asked. Five seconds later a scan was popping up in the corner of his eye, and he stood stunned for a moment as the reality of the situation sank in. 

The length of the pocket of rubble Peter and this little girl were in left very little space to be desired. Peter was on his side, his arm protectively around the little girl, holding one of her small hands, one leg bent as if he had hunched himself around her as protection, but the other.. “Peter when were you going to tell me your leg is being crushed under a building?” Tony was restraining from yelling and swearing as best he could. He heard Peter chuckle weakly

“Surprise.” His voice was already growing weak. Tony turned away from the building to see the rest of the team approaching him. Rhodey was the first to speak.

“Damage Control is gonna be here in twenty minutes.” He offered. “That’s as fast as they can get here.” Tony immediately flew up into the air, the sound of Peter coughing weakly in his ear burning in his chest.

“Well you tell them twenty minutes is gonna be too late, we need them here now!” Tony yelled as he started blasting at the building with his repulsors. He looked down at the rest of his teammates. “Don’t just stand there we need to get these kids out!” 

“Mr. Stark, the suit has enough oxygen for two hours, that’s your time frame.” Peter explained. “Sara is gonna be safe here until then.” Tony only added more power to his blasting.

“Yeah and what about you, Peter? Leaving you down there isn’t an option, kid.” Tony stated firmly.

“Mr. Stark, spiders can survive days without oxygen I’m sure I’ll-” Peter started to explain before Tony cut him off.

“Yeah and you’re not a spider, are you? No, you’re still a human, and humans need oxygen! We’re not discussing this. We’re getting both of you out of there in time.” Tony moved closer to the building when he noticed how little his repulsors were doing to destroy the rubble. “C’mon Friday,” Tony whispered to himself, frustrated. “I need more juice.”

“Boss, there’s not enough power left in the suit do any real damage, there’s just too much here.” Friday said. Tony felt his stomach drop, swearing despite knowing a little kid was listening to him.

“Can we try digging them out?” Tony asked as Friday scanned the building. 

“We can try, but they were on the third floor when the building collapsed, they’ve got about 100 feet of rubble on top of and surrounding them, boss.” Tony started running calculations in his head as Friday kept talking. “We won’t be able to reach them in the remaining six minutes fifty seconds.” Tony _ knew  _ the math, but he wasn’t accepting that as an answer.  _ Man, where was Thor when you needed him? The fucking wizard even, or a- _

“ _ We _ may not be able to, but I know someone who might..” Tony muttered to himself in realization. He flew back down to the ground, finding Bruce among the debris on the street with Clint and Natasha. “Banner, if we’re gonna get to Peter in time we could really use a Hulk.” Banner nodded. “Clint, take Nat and Sam and see if you can clear the roads enough for damage control to get to us. I’ll stay here with Rhodey and Cap.” Everyone nodded in agreement to the plan and set off to work. 

“And here I was thinking Bruce was gonna save the day for once.” Bruce chuckled before he transformed into the Hulk. Tony managed to get his attention before he went bezerk.

“Hulk, this is a rescue mission, okay? Spider-Man is trapped under that building with a little girl.” Tony began to lay out the situation. “We need your muscle, but you have to be careful not to trap them under there, you got that?” Hulk nodded down at Tony.

“Hulk won’t hurt little spider or little girl.” He replied, almost solemnly. Tony nodded back as the Hulk lept into action, helping Cap and Rhodey remove wreckage in an attempt to get to Peter and Sara. Tony was right behind him. They all threw themselves into trying to dig Peter and the little girl out of the wrecked apartment, and after a minute of or two of silence on the other end of the coms, Tony spoke up.

“Spider-Man? How’re we holding up, kid?” Tony asked, his voice unsure and strained.

“Spider-Man said he’s sleepy.” Sara replied, causing everyone to pause and pass around a worried look before throwing themselves into working harder.

“Sara, is Spider-Man still awake?” Steve asked, grunting as he yanked at the pile in front of him.

“Just tryin’ to conserve... oxygen.” Peter mumbled, his breathing already becoming shallow. Tony bit his lip. This wasn’t good.

“The pocket you two are in, how structurally sound is it?” Rhodey asked.

“It’s uh…” Peter took a long pause to try and catch his breath, which did nothing to calm Tony in the slightest. “We’re under a.. Jus’ a big slab of concrete… Tilted.. Karen doesn’t think it’ll… It’ll fall in on us…”  Peter coughed weakly again. 

“His air’s filling up with CO2 fast, boss.” Friday informed Tony, quietly. ”He doesn’t have a lot of time.” Tony swore under his breath, quiet enough that no one heard him.

“Sara? Can I ask you something?” Tony asked as he and Steve removed a support beam from the rubble in front of them.

“Hi Iron Man!” The little girl replied, and Tony’s heart began to hurt. He knew Peter was keeping her calm under there, and he was so damn proud.

“I need you to keep an eye on Spider-Man for me, okay? If he falls asleep, if he starts changing colours, if he sprouts some new spider legs, I want you to let me know right away, okay?” The question was a serious one, but was trying his best to keep the little girl calm. He heard her giggle in affirmation. 

“I promise!”

Tony heard faint sirens getting louder, he was so focused on trying to clear a way to rescue Peter and the girl, he hadn’t noticed Nat, Clint and Sam rushing over to them, damage control close behind. He breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Spidey, you still with us? Damage control is here, you still breathing?” Tony ask urgently as Steve greeted damage control with their current situation.

“Air’s… Air’s gettin’ thin, Tony…” Peter gasped, and Tony knew he was in trouble when Peter didn’t refer to him as ‘Mr. Stark’. Poor kid probably didn’t have enough air to, nor did he sound at all uncomfortable using his mentor’s first name. Also not a good sign. 

“It’s okay, Pete, we’ll get you out soon..” Tony said, backing away from what was left of the building and worriedly looking at how little progress the four of them had made. “Friday, how much oxygen does he have left?” Tony asked, not ready for the answer to his question. He kept backing away, trying to distance himself from the answer.

“About a minute and thirty seconds, if my data from Karen is correct.” Friday replied, her tone somber. She said the one thing Tony wasn’t yet ready to admit. “They aren’t going to reach him in time, boss.” Tony looked over the collapsed apartment building, damage control already pulling the rubble apart with their big machines, tools that were much more well equipped to deal with this kind of thing than his suit was. Tony did his best to choke back a sob.

“Pete? Pete, Damage control is working on getting you two out of there as we speak, okay? You’ve just gotta hang on.” Peter let out a tired chuckle.

“ _ We _ ..” He sassed, a grin prominent in his voice. The sob Tony was holding back escaped him as a half laugh. Peter coughed quietly. “Jus’ make sure… Sara…. ‘s out..” Peter coughed weakly again, and at this point coughing was a reassuring noise. 

“We will, kid. Sara’s gonna be safe, don’t worry.” Tony reassured, knowing the little girl could hear him. “Both of you are gonna get out safe, we just need you to hang on a little bit longer, kid,  _ please _ .” His voice was unsteady, afraid he wasn’t telling the truth.

“No.. no one else g- _ uh _ -ot…  _ Huhh _ , hurt, ‘ight?” Peter asked desperately between wheezing gasps, pain evident in his voice for the first time. “We.. we got ev’yone..  _ Ngh _ … Out?” The fact that Peter was even asking that question right now made Tony want to scream.

Instead he just tried his best to pretend he couldn’t hear the sound of Peter’s airways seizing up.

“No one else got hurt.” Tony reaffirmed, his head rolling, not sure whether to nod or shake his head. “You and Cap did a great job. You did us all proud, Spider-Man.” Tony heard Peter chuckle, trying to hide a moan of discomfort.

“..I...I’love you... T-uh.. _ Tony _ …” Tony could hear Peter’s breathless voice straining, trying to make his words clear, his statement sounding more like a question.  _ More like a cry for help _ .

Tony was about to lose it.

“Tell me that when you’re out here breathing fresh air, kid.” Tony responded, absentmindedly wrapping his arms around himself. “ _ Kid? _ ”

“.. Spider-Man went to sleep.” Sara informed Tony. “And his hand is getting cold.” 

“Is he holding your hand?” Tony asked, tears now pricking his eyes but somehow restabilizing his voice for the young girl’s sake. 

“He’s always been holding my hand.” Sara replied, a smile evident in her voice. Tony smiled too, wide, feeling the tears slide down his cheeks. 

“You... I.. I want you to keep holding his hand, okay? In case he wakes up, so he knows you’re still safe with him, alright?” Tony requested. “And you’ll let me know if anything else changes, won’t you?”

“Of course Iron Man!” The little girl giggled. “I promised! And you’re not supposed to break promises!” Tony shook his head. 

“No, you’re not. You’re a very smart little girl, Sara.” Sara giggled out a thank you. Tony wasn’t sure how he was still talking, his body must’ve gone on autopilot. For the sake of the girl. “We’ll have you and Spider-Man out of there really soon, okay? You just keep holding his hand.”

It ended up taking around twenty minutes to find them. 

After Peter had gone silent, Tony had pretty much checked out from the rescue mission mentally, his body simply doing whatever it was told to do to help. Steve and Natasha took over talking with Sara. Which at first was odd to everyone. Tony is usually very good at keeping people calm in these types of situations, kids especially, but in those moments he just couldn’t seem to find that in him. 

But this time things were completely different. Because this time he was sure that he’d just lost  _ his own fucking kid _ , and he was _ powerless  _ to do anything about it.

Sara’s only update on Peter had been that he was starting to turn blue in his sleep. Natasha was quick to make a reference to  _ Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory _ , and asked Sara to keep an eye out if Spider-Man started to inflate like a big blueberry.

Each breath Tony took felt like betrayal.

When they were finally found, it felt like everything started moving in slow motion. Paramedics rushed up past him onto the mountain of rubble, carrying their bags and their stretchers, ready to help. 

They pulled Sara up first.

Tony got his first glimpse of how Peter had saved her life. His Spider-Man mask was over her head, long auburn hair and a tube leading into Peter’s suit peeking out underneath it. Tony’s mind was suddenly back in his lab with Peter, remembering Peter had made the suggestion to make the oxygen tube to the headpiece adjustable in the first place. Such a small detail at the time, now had saved a little girl’s life.

Upon one of the paramedics removing the mask, the face of a bright green eyed girl was visible. Her hair was messy from wearing the mask, her pale face, red chubby cheeks and nose covered in freckles. She was reaching down to the pit she had just been pulled out of, worry present in her body language and written on her face. Tony wanted to move, wanted to go and help, but he felt completely frozen in place. He wanted to ask Friday if there was some kind of electrical issue with the suit, but his mouth wouldn’t work, either.

It took them eight minutes more to get Peter out.

Because his leg was trapped under more rubble, everyone had to get clear of the structure and the machines had to be brought back in so they could free him. Once they had gotten his leg free, three paramedics jumped down into the hole to get him out. 

At this point the little girl was long gone in an ambulance to the local hospital, but Tony hadn’t noticed. His vision was hyper focused on the three heads bobbing up and down, shouting commands and stats at each other Tony wasn’t present enough to try and understand. 

“Tony?” It was Bruce that finally tethered Tony back to his body. Hulk was gone, for how long Tony couldn’t know. Long enough for Bruce to redress and recompose himself. He felt Bruce tap lightly on his chest plate, and Tony’s suit was opening up before Tony realized he had opened it. If it wasn’t for Bruce standing right next to him, he would’ve fallen flat on his face. He leaned into his friend, draping one arm around his neck in some sort of desperate hug as he kept reminding himself to breathe.

“He’s.. What’s his… Is he..?” Tony tried to speak, tried to ask if Peter was okay, but his mouth seemed disconnected from his brain.

“They have cars waiting for us, Tony. We’re gonna meet them at the hospital, okay?” Bruce explained, slowly and clearly. Tony still couldn’t pull his eyes away from where Peter was. What the hell was taking them so damn long? 

“We.. Why can’t..?” Tony made another unsuccessful attempt at asking a question as Bruce started leading Tony to a now cleared street where cars and emergency vehicles were waiting. “I wanna ride with him.”   


“You’ll be able to see him when we get to the hospital, Tony.” Bruce reassured. Tony tripped, once again being saved from falling on his face by Bruce, his panicked gaze falling to the concrete below him as he tried to regain his balance. A gagged breath escaped his lips as he tried to regain his footing, feeling as if the entire world was quaking below him. Bruce helped Tony stand up straight and he started walking again, but what Tony saw in the corner of his eye made him stop dead in his tracks.

Peter, lying lifelessly on a stretcher, surrounded by medical personnel as they wheeled him towards one of many ambulances. He had a brace holding together what Tony knew was a completely shattered leg, and another round his neck. Someone had a bag valve mask pressed to his face, pumping air into his lungs. His face some ungodly shade of blue/grey. 

He looked dead.

“He’ll be okay, Tony.” Bruce supplied, pulling Tony’s gaze back to him. “Tony listen to me, he’s gonna be fine.” Tony’s eyes darted back and forth between Bruce’s concerned face, and Peter being loaded into an ambulance. He looked back to his friend, falling further into his embrace as the full weight of the situation finally slammed into him. He didn’t need Friday to do the math for him. He locked eyes with Bruce once again, the familiar sensation of tears sliding down his cheeks.

“No,” His whole body was shaking, “He won’t be.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Tony, you’re psyching yourself out, you’ve gotta breathe.” Rhodey encouraged softly. Tony could hear the concern in his voice. He said something else, but Tony didn’t hear it over the sounds of himself choking on bile. He took one gasping breath, then another, trying to regain control of himself. But he couldn’t.
> 
> He just couldn’t.
> 
> “I’m sorry!” Tony choked out desperately. He felt Rhodey place his other hand on Tony’s aching side.
> 
> “You don’t need to apologize.” Rhodey reminded, louder so Tony could hear him. Tony could almost sense Rhodey shaking his head. “To me or to him."
> 
> Or
> 
> In which Peter must battle his body, and Tony must battle his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> jesus christ it has been four months since i uploaded chapter one. holy hell i am sorry this took so long to update. i told myself i was going to really focus on school this year, and i've been doing a good job at that! but unfortunately that meant putting this and other projects on the back burner. i tried updating this in october and in november, but i kept editing it over and over again and i think i'm finally happy with this. this was supposed to be two chapters, but this chapter ended up getting pretty long, so i decided to make the conclusion a chapter of it's own so i don't have to sacrifice any of that sweet sweet fluff we all need right now lmao. so sorry again for taking so long, but i think you'll like what came out of it. or at least i really really hope you do. enjoy!!!!

It was hard to breathe.

Tony really hadn’t wanted to leave the hospital. As much as he hates them, he hadn’t wanted to leave. Not when Peter was still there. Granted, May was with him, which Tony could at least be thankful that Peter wasn’t alone, but the thought of not being there with him had Tony’s stomach in knots.

He wouldn’t have left if it wasn’t for Rhodey. He had been the one to drag Tony out of that stuffy waiting room after sitting there impatiently for almost twelve hours. Tony couldn’t remember everything that was wrong with Peter. All he remembered was that he really wasn’t doing good. And that he didn’t want to leave. He couldn’t.

But Rhodey just has this way of convincing Tony to do anything, and of the very few people Tony trusts unconditionally, Rhodey is by far one of the highest on his list. So despite his mind being dead set against it, his body was too tired to fight Rhodey gently leading him out of the building and driving them back to the tower.

“You should shower.” Rhodey had suggested as he guided Tony up to the top floor. “Or do you want something to eat first?” Tony opted to shower first. “Alright, but come back when you’re done, you really should have something to eat before you try and get some sleep.” Tony remembered being pulled into a tight yet gentle hug, the kind of hug only Rhodey knows how to give, and Tony allowed himself to silently cry.

All of this was so messed up. 

“I know it is.” Rhodey whispered as he rubbed Tony’s back. He hadn’t realized he’d said that out loud. They stayed like that for God knows how long before Rhodey whispered a gentle “Go get cleaned up, okay?” Tony nodded, and slowly made his way to his bathroom. He opted to take the elevator up to the next floor, knowing his limbs were too heavy to make it up the stairs. He stumbled into his room, and defeatedly slumped down onto his bed.

Tony couldn’t remember how to breathe.

All that flashed through his mind were images of Peter, dead looking on a stretcher, his face an ungodly shade of blue, his leg mangled and bleeding. Trapped under a building, suffocating, nowhere to escape to. Surrounded by doctors in gowns and masks, tubes and wires trying to keep him alive, but they weren’t enough. 

They didn’t have enough.

Peter couldn’t breathe.

He couldn’t breathe.

He  _ can’t _ breathe.

_ Damnit he can’t breathe! _

Next thing Tony knew he was hunched over his toilet, heaving, as Rhodey gingerly rubbed his back.

“Tony, you’re psyching yourself out, you’ve gotta breathe.” He encouraged softly. Tony could hear the concern in his voice. Rhodey said something else, but Tony didn’t hear it over the sounds of himself choking on bile. He took one gasping breath, then another, trying to regain control of himself. But he couldn’t.

He just couldn’t.

“I’m sorry!” Tony choked out desperately. He felt Rhodey place his other hand on Tony’s aching side.

“You don’t need to apologize.” Rhodey reminded, louder so Tony could hear him. Tony could almost sense Rhodey shaking his head. “To me or to him. Peter knows the risks that comes with doing this, you made damn sure he was well aware that this is just a part of the job.”

“But it shouldn’t be a part of  _ his  _ job!” Tony stressed, squeezing his eyes closed tightly. He felt himself begin to sob. “I never should’ve dragged him into this! He’s too young!”

“Tony, you and I both know Peter would still be doing this with or without your help.” Rhodey reasoned. “He’d been Spider-Man for, what, four months before you first got in touch with him?” Tony sniffled, spit dripping from his lower lip into the toilet.

“Six.” He corrected, his voice straining. He spit into the toilet. Rhodey gently pulled him away from the toilet, wiping his mouth carefully with some toilet paper. He pulled Tony to his chest, Tony now allowing himself to cry.

“Exactly. Six months.  _ Six months _ swinging around Queens unsupervised in nothing more than a hoodie and some goggles. And sure, he started out with small, petty crimes, but we both know that would’ve escalated to more serious stuff whether you ever recruited him or not.”

Tony took one unsteady breath, then another, trying to regain control. God, when was the last time he’d cried like this?

He stayed with Rhodey on the bathroom floor for who knows how much longer, Rhodey still rubbing Tony’s back. Once the sobbing had died down and Tony’s breathing was back to semi normal, Rhodey pat Tony on the back. 

“I think we can leave the shower until tomorrow.” Rhodey whispered. Tony nodded, pulling away from his best friend to wipe his eyes. “You should sleep.” Rhodey suggested. “Doesn’t seem like you have much of an appetite.” He observed. Tony cracked a quarter of a smile, shaking his head.

“I.. Don’t think I can sleep right now…” Tony admitted. Rhodey pushed himself off the floor, extending his hand to pull Tony up with him. Tony gets up with a grunt, leaning on his friend for support. 

“You don’t have to sleep, but you really should at least rest.” Rhodey reasoned. “How about you just come back downstairs and lay on the couch for a bit while I do some cleaning, and we can go from there?” He suggested. Tony nodded, and the two made their way downstairs. 

Tony sank into one of the large couches downstairs easily, breathing deeply as he did. He turned on the TV as Rhodey tossed him a blanket, which Tony haphazardly spread it over his legs. He winced when the TV was already set to the news, the anchor talking about the fight from earlier that day almost making Tony sick all over again. 

He quickly changed the channel to something, anything but that, content when he flipped to Jeopardy. Answering all questions from the comfort of his living room had always been relaxing to Tony, since to him the questions were pretty juvenile. Tony heard Rhodey chuckle from the kitchen as he began answering the questions under his breath, always beating the contestants on the show. It was a very good distraction for everything that was going on.

Turning back to look at Rhodey during a commercial break, Tony was met with an almost clean kitchen that didn’t need much cleaning. But Rhodey was reaching under the sink to get the stuff he used to clean the counters or the stove. Rhodey had always turned to cleaning when he was stressed, ever since Tony knew him. It was a much healthier coping mechanism than any Tony had ever used, and a tell of how much this situation was affecting him.

Tony turned back to the TV.

Two episodes into what must’ve been a rerun of past seasons of the show, Tony began to feel his eyelids grow heavy. Rhodey was still busy cleaning (He’d moved to the nearby dining room.) and Tony saw no sign of him stopping in the near future. He debated moving up to his room, but it was way to quiet up there away from the TV and Rhodey moving around, and he already had a pillow and a blanket with him, so against his better judgement, he allowed himself to slip away.

He dreamed of game shows and complicated questions he was in no way equipped to answer.

Tony’s breath caught when he woke up. He sputtered as he sat up, faster than he should’ve, and groaned when the room began to spin. He folded forward and rested his head on his slightly bent knees, covering his head with his hands. The sound of Jeopardy filled his ears, and the events of last night slowly came back to him. 

After a moment, he lifted his head, to find Rhodey walking towards him. He looked concerned, and reached over the back of the couch to place one hand carefully on his friend’s back.

“You good?” Rhodey asked quietly. Tony nodded, taking a deep breath. Rhodey rubbed his back affectionately. “Bad dream?” He then asked. Tony nodded, quicker than before, as he took another long, deep breath.

“I need to stop watching Jeopardy before I fall asleep..” Tony sighed, waving his hand at the TV to turn it off. “What time is it?”

“2:47 p.m. You fell asleep sometime around 4:50 this morning.” Rhodey supplied, allowing Tony to untangle his legs from his blanket and plant his feet on the floor. He took another deep breath. 

“I need to shower.” Tony decided, not being able to recall the last time he had done so. 

“You gonna be alright?” Rhodey asked. Tony nodded, standing slowly. Rhodey gently squeezed Tony’s shoulder, and Tony could hear the reassuring smile in his voice when he next spoke. “Take your time, I’ll have breakfast ready by the time you’re finished.” Tony reached up and pat the hand Rhodey still had resting on his shoulder, before cautiously making his way upstairs.

Twenty minutes later, Tony was showered and dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants feeling much more aware and refreshed, shoveling as much french toast Rhodey could make into his mouth. In all the commotion of the past day, Tony hadn’t realized how hungry he was. The scene reminded Tony of their days at MIT, the memories of somewhat simpler times comforting.

“Rhodey you know I’m just gonna keep eating this if you keep making it..” Tony warned. Rhodey rolled his eyes at his friend as he slid a plate with two more slices of toast over to him.

“That’s the idea. I don’t know when the next time you’re gonna remember to feed yourself is gonna be, so I’ve gotta make sure you eat when I can.” Rhodey explained as he ate a mouthful of his own toast. “Even Iron Man’s gotta eat.” Tony pushed the offered plate back towards his best friend, giving him a look Rhodey was finding harder and harder to ignore. 

“You’re stalling.” Tony accused knowingly. “They called about Peter, didn’t they?” Rhodey sighed, nodding. He pushed the plate towards Tony once again. 

“You eat this while I talk, deal?” Rhodey suggested. Tony looked uneasy.

“If I eat while you talk will I be able to keep this down?” Tony asked. Rhody nodded.

“I won’t go into too much detail.” Rhodey promised. After a moment of hesitation, Tony picked up his fork and knife and began eating again, looking up to Rhodey to deliver his end of the bargain. Rhodey nodded. “Do you remember anything the doctors told you yesterday, or do I need to give you a recap of that?” Rhodey asked. Tony closes his eyes, trying to remember, before shaking his head. 

“Can’t remember much.” Was all he said as he ate another mouthful of toast. Rhodey nodded kindly.

“You were pretty tired, I’m not surprised. Well, they were giving him oxygen from the scene of the fight to the hospital, but realized that was causing his healing factor to kick into overdrive, and was starting to heal his leg and lung wrong because his leg was mangled and his lung was collapsed. So they had to reduce the amount they were giving him so they had time to realign his lung and fix up his leg. You with me so far?” Rhodey asked. Tony nodded, the information starting to come back to him. 

“They took him for surgery twice, didn’t they?” Tony asked. Rhodey nodded.

“Thankfully, because they were limiting his oxygen intake, he was out cold for both operations.They ended up taking him back the second time because his lung collapsed again when they tried to get him to start breathing again. He woke up for the first time around six this morning.” Tony nodded, but he still wasn’t hearing what he needed to hear. Rhodey noticed. 

“They told me he’s in a lot of pain, but there’s no brain damage.” Tony let out a long breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. “Whatever that spider bite did to his brain, it kept it intact for almost thirteen hours without oxygen.” Tony’s whole body relaxed, the tension he’d been holding finally melting away. He felt tears prick his eyes. 

Before Tony knew it Rhodey was hugging him and as he cried into his chest, now finally tears of relief. 

“He’s okay, Tones.” Rhodey whispered over and over again as he rubbed Tony’s back supportively. "He's okay." 

“I was so worried.” Tony sobbed. “I was so scared, I thought he was gonna..” Tony couldn’t even finish that sentence. Rhodey places one hand on the back of Tony’s neck, something that always comforts Tony. 

“I know, Tones, but he’s okay. He’s gonna be just fine.” 

“When can we go see him?” Tony asked, pulling away from Rhodey to wipe his wet face. “I wanna go see him.”

“May told me visiting hours start at 4:00, so we have some time.” Rhodey answered. Tony sniffled into Rhodey’s shirt, nodding. “He’s okay, Tony.” Rhodey reminded once again. “Peter’s okay.”

Per Rhodey’s suggestion, Tony pulled out his French press and made the both of them some of the good coffee, instead of the more instant stuff he’d been stomaching lately. Tony had to admit, he’d been getting really lazy, mostly because Pepper was away on a business trip and when Tony’s left alone he can forget to take care of himself. The taste of good coffee was worth the extra effort. 

He and Rhodey took their time eating the rest of their food, and Tony helped clean up afterwards. They made more coffee, and packed an extra mug for May, whom they both knew was in dire need of it, and were on their way to the hospital 45 minutes later. Despite constant reassurance from Rhodey, Tony was anxious to see Peter. He needed to get the grey, dead image of his kid out of his head.

Rhodey took care to make sure he stayed close to Tony as they checked themselves in and journeyed through the hospital. Tony wanted to talk to Peter’s doctors, but that could wait, because at that moment the only thing on his mind was making sure Peter was alive and breathing again. 

As the two drew closer to Peter’s room, they saw May. She was leaving Peter’s room, taking care to close the door quietly. When she and Tony locked eyes, she was quick to approach him and wrap him in a tight hug. Tony hugged her back just as tightly. 

“He’s okay.” May breathed, the first thing she said to Tony. “He’s okay.” A tear fell from Tony’s eye. God, after the past day and a half Tony didn’t know how he still had any tears left. 

“How’s he doing?” Tony asked, a little choked up. 

“His metabolism sucks up any medication they try to give him, so he’s in a lot of pain, but he’s awake and he’s breathing and he’s okay.” May replied, sounding choked up herself. “His leg’s doing well, they said they might be able to take the cast off in three or four days if he keeps healing the way he has been.” She explained, Tony nodding. 

“Is he talking yet?” Tony asked, as he and May reluctantly pulled away from each other to talk face to face. Because after knowing the kid for a while, Tony knew he tends to go nonverbal when he’s not feeling good.

“His windpipe got bruised in the collapse, so talking still hurts right now, but he’s been tapping away at my arm nonstop.” May recounted, smiling. Tony smiled, too. Thank god for morse code. “And he’s been asking about you all morning.” May informed. Tony let out a chuckle, his smile growing. “But he’s happy you went home and got some sleep.” Tony nodded towards Rhodey.

“He can thank this guy for that.” Tony smiled, and Rhodey rolled his eyes. 

“Well,” May started, giving Tony’s hands a reassuring squeeze, “I shouldn’t keep you from Peter any longer. He’s been missing you like mad.” Tony nodded, squeezing back. 

“We brought you coffee, by the way.” Rhodey mentioned, handing the travel mug to May. She smiled brightly and gave Rhodey a hug. 

“You’re a Godsend.” She breathed. She and Rhodey shared a polite kiss on the cheek in parting, and May wrapped Tony in one more hug and did the same to him. “Get in there.” She whispered. Tony nodded, and they separated. They shared one more relieved glance as they parted ways. Tony and Rhodey approaches the door, but as Tony grabbed for the doorknob he stopped dead in his tracks. 

Memories flashed though his mind. 

He was walking into Happy’s hospital room, catching the first glimpse of his dear friend in a coma. 

He was walking into his mother’s hospital room, a white sheet shielding the image of her lifeless body from her only son.

_ He was told _ Happy was okay.  _ He was told _ that his mother was okay. Only to find out that they were not.  _ That he has been lied to _ .

Tony wasn’t sure if he could do this.

“Hey,” Tony turned to face Rhodey, standing tall behind him, hand comfortingly on his shoulder, “He’s okay.” Thoughts racing through his mind, Tony wanted to scream. 

But he didn’t. 

He paused, felt the large calloused hand on his shoulder. He saw the comforting face of his best friend. And he knew in his heart of hearts that James Rhodes wouldn’t dare lie to him. Not in any situation like this.

Tony reminded himself to trust.

Taking a long, deep breath, Tony nodded. His heart beat fast in his chest, and for a hair of a second Tony thought he was going to have a heart attack. But he leaned into the touch of his friend, and with all the courage he could muster, turned the door knob, and opened the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave me a comment if you're even still reading jshdgf 
> 
> especially if you liked chapter two!!! so i know people are still here and want more!!!!
> 
> and let me know what you think of this chapter!!!
> 
> did you love it?? hate it?? throw your device against a wall when you read it??? i wanna know so badly!!!! seriously!!!!
> 
> and if you have anything you wanna see in the final chapter, let me know too!!! i'd love hear what you guys what to read!!!
> 
> even if a different story or idea you've been dying to read, let me know about it, because i am moat always accepting new prompts!!!
> 
> the best way for me too see requests and keep them organized is by sending me an ask on [my tumblr](https://spider-man-stan.tumblr.com/)!!!
> 
> and to those of you who have been waiting on this, thank you so much for coming back!!!! don't hesitate let me know what you thought because i am always listening!!!! <3

**Author's Note:**

> you know what you should do now that i've left you on a cliff hanger?? leave a comment!! because if it turns out this was terrible and i'm just lying to myself that this is good then there's no point in publishing the ending, and this shall forever remain in unfinished story limbo. and it would just make this shitty night a little bit better. and i just love attention lmao. comment literally whatever the hell you want, man. a key smash, all the reasons you hate your neighbour, the declaration of independence, literally anything and i will forever be in your debt. literally, JUST COMMENT!! i love those things!! thanks!


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